Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,002 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 4,530 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 22,982 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,738,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Nepsis Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 146,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $23,906,000 after buying an additional 65,086 shares during the last quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,000. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in Applied Materials by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,107,000 after acquiring an additional 10,459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.
Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $186.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.07.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.
AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.71.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AMAT
Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.
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